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TriMet outlines expanded safety and security program, cites decreases in police calls and assaults
Summary
TriMet told the committee it has rebuilt a public‑safety program in recent years — new unarmed customer safety teams, a safety response team and increased surveillance and operations‑center capacity — and reported declines in calls for police service and assaults as it paired enforcement with community‑based responses.
TriMet officials described a multi‑pronged effort to restore the public's confidence in transit safety and to reduce crime and assaults on transit workers. Andrew Wilson, TriMet's chief safety officer and executive director of safety and security, told the Joint Transportation Committee the agency has restructured its safety organization, expanded staffing across unarmed security, customer service, a safety response team and a 24‑hour security operations center, and invested in cameras and access control.
Wilson said TriMet has nearly 500 positions in safety and security across multiple teams and has increased transit police staffing modestly. "We have a fully reimagined, public safety group now at TriMet," Wilson said. He added TriMet's data show calls for police service and operator assaults have declined from peaks in recent years, a trend he attributed to a mix of targeted enforcement, stronger prosecutorial partnerships and community‑based response teams.
Key elements Wilson cited: deployment of a Safety Response Team trained in de‑escalation and equipped with Narcan to respond to addiction and behavioral health incidents; more than 8,000 cameras available to TriMet and partner law enforcement; a newly opened 24‑hour security operations center that can monitor elevated risk locations and elevators in real time; installation of blue‑light security phones at stations and on some bus corridors; and expanded partnerships with the Multnomah County District Attorney's Office, including DAs and investigators on contract to facilitate prosecution.
On accountability and liability: when asked about victims and liability, Wilson said TriMet has a risk management unit that handles claims and lawsuits and that prosecution and accountability often involve community law enforcement partners because TriMet operates in public spaces. "TriMet is a very public space. So in terms of the types of things that get onto our system, our liability in those scenarios is somewhat... we're a victim of a lot of the same things that the community is a victim of," Wilson said, and added that surveillance and DA partnerships help hold frequent offenders accountable.
Ending: Wilson said TriMet continues to invest in cleaning, environmental design and technologies that both reduce crime and improve perceptions of safety. No policy or funding action was voted on at the hearing; Wilson offered to provide additional data at the committee's request.
